Mask for A Stomach sleeper?

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littleredtree2
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Mask for A Stomach sleeper?

Post by littleredtree2 » Sat Nov 21, 2009 6:43 pm

Hi

I would like the experience of everyone here.

My son needs a new mask. Must be a full face mask, as he sleeps with his mouth open.
He also sleeps on his stomach.

in your opinion, what would be a good mask for him?

thanks
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Spirit
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Re: Mask for A Stomach sleeper?

Post by Spirit » Sat Nov 21, 2009 8:54 pm

For best fit/quality, he will have to experiment with different masks, till he is happy with one.

I am a stomach sleeper, I use the Quattro. It was very difficult to sleep on my stomach in the beginning, but as time passed, I began to learn to stomach sleep with the mask, making nightly adjustments till mask felt good, and no longer leaked, took a few nights.

I first began sleeping on my side, with no leak issues, then worked my way to stomach, the more I moved towards stomach sleeping, my mask would begin leaking, as my head rotated, then around another 30 day's later, I was able to sleep, on my stomach comfortably, after nightly adjustments. It took a little while, but can be done.

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Julie
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Re: Mask for A Stomach sleeper?

Post by Julie » Sat Nov 21, 2009 9:01 pm

I use the UltraMirage FF because it vents not from the elbow angle (above where the hose connects) but higher up on the mask, which means the vent holes are not blocked by bedding, which is a rather dangerous occurrence as the CO2 must be allowed to leave once we breathe air in through the machine. I also got a very good quality 4-5 inch high slab of foam to cover my mattress, then cut out a 10 inch long by 3 inch trench in the centre, from the top downward, allowing somewhere for the mask to dip into while sleeping - I was getting a very sore neck before that, and the mask was getting knocked around too much.

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littleredtree2
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Re: Mask for A Stomach sleeper?

Post by littleredtree2 » Sun Nov 22, 2009 10:33 am

Thank you Both for your help.

I will mention the two mask you spoke of.
And the mattress Idea is great. I even have thought of doing it.

I will tell him about that foam slab for sure. I think it would be a great help to him.
''Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you are a mile away from them,
and you have their shoes."
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Gerryk
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Re: Mask for A Stomach sleeper?

Post by Gerryk » Sun Nov 22, 2009 10:43 am

I have seen a whole face mask out there also. I don't remember where the vents are on this mask which is very important as you don't want the vents blocked. I did try the whole face mask and that was the only mask that I tried that was easy to adjust and get to seel but it covers your whole face.

Gerry

tcaron
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Re: Mask for A Stomach sleeper?

Post by tcaron » Sun Nov 22, 2009 11:45 am

I am also a stomach sleeper w/open mouth. So far the new Resmed Mirage Nasal Gel is working very well but I also need a strap to keep my mouth closed. My Rescan number look very good with this setup.

Good luck!

Tom C

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Re: Mask for A Stomach sleeper?

Post by ProfessorEd » Sun Nov 22, 2009 9:59 pm

Julie wrote:I use the UltraMirage FF because it vents not from the elbow angle (above where the hose connects) but higher up on the mask, which means the vent holes are not blocked by bedding, which is a rather dangerous occurrence as the CO2 must be allowed to leave once we breathe air in through the machine. I also got a very good quality 4-5 inch high slab of foam to cover my mattress, then cut out a 10 inch long by 3 inch trench in the centre, from the top downward, allowing somewhere for the mask to dip into while sleeping - I was getting a very sore neck before that, and the mask was getting knocked around too much.
The foam sounds like a good idea.Where did you go to get the foam and what was "high quality"? How did you do the cutting etc.? Any other advice?

If the edges of a full face mask (am now trying the Quattro) push into the bed either the mask is displaced or your head must turn too much?

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Julie
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Re: Mask for A Stomach sleeper?

Post by Julie » Mon Nov 23, 2009 4:47 am

I ordered the foam (cut to any size) from a foam rubber store/dealer, who sell nothing else. I tried various grades and weights and densities in the store. Weight seems to be the measurement that counts rather than density, but there's a bit more to it all, which experts can tell you about. Also important is to ask about the type of foam in terms of sleeping, whether it needs off gassing for weeks first, or whether you can use it more or less right away (with a sheet, of course). The good stuff will be the usual cream color, not a grayish blue, as far as that goes. And the best thing to cut it with is a turkey carving knife.

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LinkC
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Re: Mask for A Stomach sleeper?

Post by LinkC » Mon Nov 23, 2009 6:15 am

I concur with Julie. I do some woodworking as a hobby and sometimes make upholstered furniture.

In general, the more the foam weighs, the better the quality (it's a density thing...)

I cut mine with an old* electric carving knife. Haven't done a mattress pad, but I modified a foam "contour" pillow so I can side-sleep without puttting side pressure on the mask.

*I'm not sure I'd use it at the table after cutting foam with it. Mine came to the shop after my wife bought a new one...

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littleredtree2
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Re: Mask for A Stomach sleeper?

Post by littleredtree2 » Mon Nov 23, 2009 7:15 am

FACE DOWN PILLOW
Positions Your Face Comfortably

Our Face Down Pillow has a u-shaped opening that allows you to breathe while resting, relaxing, getting a massage or recovering from certain medical conditions. This spine-friendly pillow is gently sloped for perfect positioning. Polyurethane fill. Includes FREE washable, removable cover. 29 x 14 x 1 to 6 inches high. USA.

I was just surfing last night and found a pillow for the belly sleepers.
even says its made in the USA!

http://www.shophometrends.com/product.a ... 1258981664

Image
''Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you are a mile away from them,
and you have their shoes."
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roster
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Re: Mask for A Stomach sleeper?

Post by roster » Mon Nov 23, 2009 8:09 am

littleredtree wrote:FACE DOWN PILLOW
Positions Your Face Comfortably

Our Face Down Pillow has a u-shaped opening that allows you to breathe while resting, relaxing, getting a massage or recovering from certain medical conditions. This spine-friendly pillow is gently sloped for perfect positioning. Polyurethane fill. Includes FREE washable, removable cover. 29 x 14 x 1 to 6 inches high. USA.

I was just surfing last night and found a pillow for the belly sleepers.
even says its made in the USA!

http://www.shophometrends.com/product.a ... 1258981664

Image

Owww! That looks like torture. A lot of weight is resting on your cheeks and there doesn't appear to be enough space for a CPAP mask to fit in there.

Tummy sleepers, please familiarize yourself with the Falcon position of tummy sleeping.
Falcon1 wrote:You've inspired me to get my photos of this sleeping position accomplished, as I promised.

Here they are below. Thanks for the nomination to give the 'partial swastika sleeping position' a new name...and call it the Falcon Position!

Actually, I can't take full credit for this sleeping position. I remembered seeing it a long time ago on a re-run of an old Merv Griffin show. A sleep expert (don't recall his name) was one of Merv's guests, and he told Merv and the audience about this position. He said that studies and surveys had been done, and this was found to be the most comfortable position among all other sleeping positions. (Personally, I found that it actually took a little time to get used to it, when I first tried it. Now I find it extremely comfortable.) The guest also said that this sleeping position was one of the best for alignment, as well, since the spine of your neck, torso, and hips stay lined-up with each other.

The mental image I saw on that talk show episode stayed with me, and about three years ago I started to experiment and use this position at night. I found that it really helped significantly with somewhat reducing my sleep-disordered breathing related symptoms, in conjunction with my other treatment approaches, especially compared with back-sleeping (with or without a pillow, neck roll, etc) or side-sleeping positions.

As I mentioned previously, with this sleeping position, the head is kept turned completely to the side, while it rests flat against the bed.

The body is not actually completely prone, since the chest and abdomen stay lifted up off of the bed somewhat, because of the bend in the hip of one leg, which keeps the torso/abdomen propped up a bit.

For added support and comfort, I like to keep a pillow under the half of my chest and abdomen which is lifted up slightly off the bed. You can see the pillow that I have under my chest/abdomen in the photos.


Left-facing position:

Image

Right-facing position:

Image


As I mentioned before, this sleeping position is also very compatible with cpap gear, in my experience. Back when I was using my cpap machine and facemask/headgear, I slept in this position very consistently and effectively each night, without any interference.

Today, I went and dug my cpap mask out of the closet where it's been for the past two years (since I no longer need cpap treatment), and took these photos, to demonstrate that this sleeping position is compatible with facemask/headgear usage.

Left-facing position, with facemask/headgear:

Image

Right-facing position, with facemask/headgear:

Image


With practice and conditioning, I found that I was able to become accustomed to being able to switch from the left-facing position to the right-facing position while asleep, without any interference to my facemask/ headgear, for a greater degree of variety and comfort during the night. At first, I practiced this switching from left-facing to right-facing several times, consciously, before falling asleep at night for a couple of weeks. Then, my subconscious took over and I was able to switch from left- to right-facing a few times during the night while asleep, without interruption of my sleep.

For those that didn't see it earlier on page 1 of this forum string, here's the excerpt again from my ebook, at http://www.uarsrelief.com, which I wrote on the topic of "Sleeping Positions".

Best regards!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLEEPING POSITIONS - by Eric Falcon, MD

It is widely accepted that sleeping on your back tends to worsen all forms of sleep-disordered breathing, including UARS, sleep apnea, and snoring. Sleeping on the back allows gravity to pull the soft tissues of the palate, or the tongue, down into the back of the throat and cause airway narrowing, or as in the case of sleep apnea, complete obstruction.

Some doctors will even go so far as to advise patients with sleep-disordered breathing to sew a pocket into the back of their pajamas so that a tennis ball may be kept in it at night. After rolling onto your back at night during sleep and repeatedly experiencing the discomfort of the tennis ball continuously there, you soon "train" your subconscious mind to learn to avoid this sleeping position all together.

An easier alternative to sewing a pocket in the back of your pajamas is to just go out and buy a Dickies T-shirt or other type of T-shirt (which you can usually find in the men's section of K-mart) that has a pocket in the front upper left of the shirt. Simply put the shirt on backwards and place the tennis ball in the pocket, which is now in the upper right of the back. You get the same effect!

Sleeping on your side is preferable to sleeping on your back. When sleeping on your side try to keep your head, torso, and pelvis all in a straight line (when viewed from behind), which is a neutral anatomical position that will help to keep your spine in alignment. You can achieve this result by using a pillow of the proper height under your head and also by placing a flat pillow between your knees. Also, keep your knees and hips in a relaxed but flexed position and bent at 90 degree angles.

Many authorities feel that sleeping on the stomach, known as the "prone" position, is not a good idea. The reason for this is because it can lead to improper alignment of the spine, and because it can also place excessive pressure on the gastrointestinal organs throughout the night.

Yet doctors routinely advocate that patients with sleep-disordered breathing sleep on their stomach or side, however, and avoid sleeping on their backs. By sleeping on your side, or on your stomach with your head turned off to the side, this elicits the pull of gravity to cause the soft tissues of the palate and the tongue to fall somewhat forward and away from the back of the throat, preventing them from narrowing or obstructing the airway.

Believe it or not there actually is a PRONE sleeping position I have found which I believe retains the beneficial effects of gravity on the tissues of the back of the throat and tongue, as well as maintains some degree of proper spinal alignment, and also avoids excessive pressure on the internal organs.

This is often called the SWASTIKA SLEEPING POSITION (it's really only a PARTIAL swastika shape) because of the position of the arms, which are pointed in opposite directions away from each other, with the shoulders and the elbows bent at ninety degree angles.

Here's a complete description of the SWASTIKA SLEEPING POSITION: To start out with, first lay flat on your belly for a second and turn your head to the left. Now, bring your left arm up so that your upper arm is extending out at a ninety degree angle to the side of your torso, and your left elbow is bent ninety degrees, with your left hand pointing up away from your feet. (Your left hand ends up being next to your face, in this position.)

Next, extend your right arm out to the opposite side of your body at a ninety degree angle and bend your right elbow ninety degrees as well, with your right hand pointing down towards your feet. (You arms will now form a 'half-swastika' shape.)

Next, bring your left thigh up so that your left hip and knee are each bent at ninety degree angles. Keep the right leg extended straight downward, with no bend at the knee or hip. In this position you will find that your abdomen/belly and chest will be lifted slightly off of the bed, so that there is not a feeling of excessive pressure on your gastrointestinal organs. For added support and comfort, you can place a pillow under the left half of your chest and abdomen.

I find this to be an incredibly comfortable position which I can remain in all night long with no discomfort. By the way, no pillow is used under the head in this sleeping position. The side of your face rests directly on your flat bed and the spine of your neck, torso, and hips should all line up in a straight line.

You can also switch to the exact opposite side, using the swastika sleeping position, so that you're looking to the right instead, with your right hand now up in front of your face and your right knee and hip bent, and your left leg straight. Basically just use the same steps as I described above but replace the terms "left" with "right" and vice-versa.

Aside: Although this is my favorite sleeping position, I really DISLIKE the NAME that was given to it, for OBVIOUS REASONS! The image of a swastika however seems to help people who've never seen this sleeping position before to visualize it better, and so the term helps a bit when attempting to describe this sleeping position to others. Nonetheless, I sure hope someone comes up with a better name for it sometime soon!


12/4/08 PostScript: A nomination has been proposed to give this sleep position the new name of the "Falcon Position." I'm honored!

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=36738&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=15

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I have a vision that we will figure out an easy way to ensure that children develop wide, deep, healthy and attractive jaws and then obstructive sleep apnea becomes an obscure bit of history.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ycw4uaX ... re=related

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Julie
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Re: Mask for A Stomach sleeper?

Post by Julie » Mon Nov 23, 2009 9:06 am

I agree, that pillow (or massage set-up) is not the thing for all night, every night with-a-mask-on (would certainly dislodge a mask anyhow) and is not how I sleep with my DIY version. Rooster's falcon position is a lot closer to what I do, though my cut-out dug-out allows my UltraMirage FF, with more 'mask' in front than what looks like a Breeze in his picture, to be angled in and downward to a greater extent, and while I occasionally wake up to find I've been close to straight up and down in it (I've also rounded, or shaved, the edges of my trench) I'm more likely to be at 45 deg. than anything. It's more of a relieve-the-complete-flatness business of not having any dip than a bury-your-face completely thing.

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Re: Mask for A Stomach sleeper?

Post by katherinefulmer » Mon Nov 23, 2009 9:31 am

This post has been added to the CPAP Wiki:

wiki/index.php/Mask_for_a_Stomach_Sleeper%3F

This page is part of the growing 'Which Mask is Right for me?' section of the CPAP Mask page:

wiki/index.php/CPAP_Mask#Which_Mask_is_right_for_me.3F
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